Lesson 10.5: Social Studies Connection

World's Oldest Stadiums

It is 5,000 years old. It was hidden under the ground for many, many years. Then, not long ago, it was uncovered. It is Dholavira, once a very important city in ancient India.

Over time, many earthquakes destroyed all the places around Dholavira. The earthquakes covered Dholavira with rocks and soil too, but somehow it remained standing.

The people who built Dholavira were very intelligent. They used math, especially geometry, to help them build it. They knew how to collect water in reservoirs. They kept their roads in good shape by never allowing moving vehicles to ride on them.

Recently, even more of the ground covering Dholavira was dug away. The world's oldest stadiums appeared. One of the stadiums was so big that it could seat up to 10,000 people! A signboard was also uncovered. Nobody can read the ancient Indian writing on it. Can you guess what story it might tell?

ancient:

Very, very old: Our class saw a display of ancient arrowheads in the museum.

earthquake:

Shaking of the ground caused by moving rocks far below the ground: We knew we were having an earthquake when the walls began to move.

reservoir:

Lake-like place where water is stored: We get our water from a reservoir that is 50 miles from here.

vehicle:

Anything that can move people or things from one place to another: Wooden carts were once the only vehicles used to carry goods.

stadium:

Large, open theatre: As the baseball player crossed home base, cheers filled the stadium.

Activity

A compound word is made up of two words put together. The word earthquake is made up of the word earth and the word quake. You know what “earth” means. “Quake” means to shake, so an earthquake is earth that shakes!

Get a sheet of paper. Write compound words using the words below. Put one word from Column A together with one word from Column B to make each compound word. You may use a dictionary to help you.

Column A

Column B

earth

pod

school

pane

cat

quake

window

stick

drum

fish

pea

yard

A sports stadium has enough space for many people to sit and watch a game. The seats are arranged in rows. In some stadiums, the rows are separated into sections.

Suppose you are going to a stadium to see a game with friends. Write your answers to these questions on a sheet of paper. You may want to draw pictures to help you solve the problems.

You have tickets in Section A. In this section, there are 8 rows with 8 seats in each row. How many people can sit in Section A?

You have tickets in Section B. In this section, there are 12 rows with 12 seats in each row. How many people can sit in Section B?

81 people can sit in Section C. If each row can seat the same number of people, how many rows could be in Section C?

121 people can sit in Section D. If each row can seat the same number of people, how many rows could be in Section D?